Am I hurting my VX transmission?

[MZ-N10]

well...if u look in the vx manual they acutally tell u to down shift down hill, i think it was called engine braking.

[transio]

I know for a fact that engine braking is not suggested in a high performance manual car (clutches are way more expensive than brake pads). Not sure about an automatic, though...

[SGT.BATGUANO]

Engine braking does just that, it reduces your speed by tranferring energy in reverse order through the driveline . It also causes extra wear on those components, especially the timing belt/chain. Use the brakes unless you're in exceptionally steep, hilly terrain.

[MachineVX]

Brakes are a lot cheaper than transmission . . .

[VehiGAZ]

Amen to that, MachineVX! Yes, everyone is correct that engine-compression braking saves wear on the brakes, but you all have to go the rest of the way with that thought... "engine-compression braking saves wear on the brakes ...at the expense of your clutch and drive-train. Brake pads are cheap compared to a new clutch, friends.

That said, it is perfectly ok and highly recommended to use gears 2 and 3 for keeping your car from accelerating while descending a steep hill, especially on wet or snowy roads. But that assumes you are at the speed you want to be at before you downshift. Downshifting to slow the car down is a lousy idea.

[V-Twin hiCROSS]

Does anyone have a list of all of the grease fittings on the VX, and with maybe a brief description of where they are located? I could not find many.
Thanks

[thebear54]

There are only three you have to worry about.
All three are on the driveshaft, one at each end(U-Joints) and one in the center. All you have to do is crawl under there with a grease gun (loaded of course ) .
Grease the U-Joints until just a little grease filters out. The center one reqires a little more that a few cranks. Just look for the tiny nipples (sorry),those are called fittings or zirx, thats where the grease goes.
That "should" take care of the clunking sound when you shift.
Good luck!!
John